An active member of the Financial Planning Association, Hackensack, New Jersey resident Frank Cardia is managing partner of Augurey Ventures, which he also founded. Mr. Cardia began his financial services journey in 1996 and has built two businesses catering to high-net-worth individuals in the United States and internationally, including current and former clients of companies such as Accenture, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Frank Cardia and his employees at Augurey Ventures focus on providing accredited investors opportunities in pre-publicly traded companies and alternative investments, mostly reserved for institutional investors.
Mr. Cardia and his current team have funded over 500 million dollars in late stage pre-IPO companies including renowned firms such as Uber, Airbnb, Lyft, Palantir, Pinterest, and SoFi. Together, they are always updating their inventory to create more opportunities for accredited investors.
An experienced sales consultant with a focus on team building and sales training, Frank Cardia has also helped to facilitate more than $1 billion in venture capital transactions over his entire career. Mr. Cardia’s specialties include operation, management, and structuring of private equity funds.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My typical day, I am up at 4:30am… I go through a breathing exercise and stretching for 20 minutes. By 5:00 am, I am usually reading something business-related or listening to a podcast for 30 minutes. I will then spend some time looking through emails I may have missed. By 6:00 am, I am out the door to the gym to swim, or out the door for a run or bike ride.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I usually will converse about new ideas of mine with several people that I consider mentors, before implementing them. I implore them to play “devil’s advocate” and shoot holes in the idea, or at least give their thoughts on the “worst-case scenario” type situations. If it passes their test, then I usually begin implementing the idea. If possible, I will test first on a smaller scale to get a feel for if its working.
What’s one trend that excites you?
AI. I believe artificial intelligence is going to be is going to be something spectacular for all of us.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
I am up early every morning finding ways to be productive. I get more done by 8:00 am, then I know most do in a full day. I believe sleeping in is a terrible habit.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Think big… and always have positive beliefs.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
I believe in the power of positive thoughts more than most… I have seen it change people’s lives.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
I can’t think of just one thing… I would offer three things: waking up early to begin your day, exercising regularly, and reading daily.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Sometimes, I detach from everything and will find comfort in just watching a dumb, old movie for a bit. Or reruns of Seinfeld. But I can also sometimes take comfort in going for a long run and just detaching from whatever had me overwhelmed.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
I believe that old saying by Zig Ziglar, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough people get what they want.”
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
One failure in my career was not selling my mortgage company for an incredible profit and believing that it would continue to grow higher and higher in valuation. Then the financial crisis of 2009 hit, and it all disappeared. We ended up just shutting the doors. It taught me to not be blinded by the “shiny” objects and that sometimes you have to know when to take your profits off the table.
Greed is a killer for most people in business
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Google Calendar… put everything in your phone. Do NOT ever miss an appointment
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
One of the best books I have read is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. It really made me understand patience and being mindful of not getting too emotional over things that are not in my complete control.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I don’t watch much TV, but I will always be a fan of Seinfeld.
Key learnings
- Be Patient. Don’t get too emotional over business
- Have a group of smart people around you, that you trust and off whom you can bounce ideas. Let them be critical of your ideas and don’t get offended.
- Thoughts… feelings… actions. “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
- Some sort of exercise needs to be part of your daily/weekly routine… doesn’t matter how much or how little you do, but it needs to be in your life.
- Never discount family time… It should be paramount over everything in business. You’re never promised tomorrow with the ones you love, make today count.